So I recently got an e-reader and have started collecting e-books for it, but a lot of books seem to only be available through Amazon/Kindle. I don’t want anything to do with that company. Where do I even start looking? I have my local library apps and have scoured Project Gutenberg and some similar sites. While this is great for classics and older stuff, I want newer books too, specifically science fiction and fantasy. Have looked at author’s websites but they typically link to Amazon or physical copies.
As many users mentioned all shadow libraries, but also Google just search for the title with
type:pdfor epub and have direct links to that book. Ex: harry Potter type:pdfEbooks.com often sells drm-free ebooks, depending on if the publisher allows it
Thanks for the tip.
Usenet
Depends on region… depends on what you want to read… depends on you e-reader.
For example a kobo or a kindle will only read from kobo and amazon respectively.
Kobo and Google Play Books is my first stop to shop, since it supports Adobe Digital Editions, along with their own apps.
Amazon is my second stop. Not because I like them, I’m I. The same boat as you. But believe it or not their encryption is based off of your devices serial number. And you can DeDRM your Kindle books very easily.
Then it’s from publishers directly if they let you, like J-Novel Club is pricy but they offer drm free books.
My last option is obscure, but cool if you are looking for a deal. Humble Bundle is where I go for textbooks and older series. Only issue is they sell only in Bundles, and you’d get a lot of stuff you may not necessarily want. But the deals are crazy if you don’t want to pirate.
Finally depending on value and how much I feel the book is worth, I may sail the high seas.
Anna’s archive https://annas-archive.org
Library genesis https://libgenesis.net
Project Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org
I’d like to add zlibrary to the list https://zlibrary.st/new-z-library-official-website-links
While you’re mainly looking for sources of new books, since you’re a fan of Fantasy and Sci-fi, I’d like to mention Luminist.org, which has the most complete archive of classic fantasy & sf fiction magazines and pulps available for free!
Its so complete that it is entirely overwhelming where to start. Personally I would suggest Galaxy, Fantasy & Science Fiction, IF, Destinies, Analog, and Asimov’s
Thanks! It’s about time I read Asimov for sure.
If you want another marketplace to buy books that isn’t tried to Amazon try Kobo
Yep. It’s the only decent place I can find books when I want something not in English.
My library’s app will install them remotely via overdrive. If it’s not on there, Usenet works as well as anything else.
Not what you asked for, but if you’re interested at all in digital audio books, I cannot recommend highly enough Chirp Books. They use a flash sale kind of model, and sometimes the author you’re interested in has their books at 90% off for like 30 days, and it cycles on rotation. You do need their proprietary player app to listen, but you can download the audiobooks to your device for offline listening.
For actual ebooks, you could look into your local library, and what schemes are available for ‘digital lending’. Some platforms exist that let you loan movies, games, stream music and download ebooks using your local library card.
https://standardebooks.org/ for public domain works.
and other ebooks i own are most likely from https://www.humblebundle.com/
Ah, yes, HumbleBundle! I forgot about them. Thanks!
As an FYI, Some of the bundles lately have been fulfilled through Kobo, they’re still epubs and kobo’s drm is pretty easy to strip though.
Honorable mention must be made of Anna’s Archive. It’s a little slow, but you can probably download the books faster than you can read them.
When you get tired of trying to pay for it and realise if they don’t want to make it easy for you to purchase then you should pirate it then check out myanonamouse :)
Thanks! I’m interested for sure. I can use this and then donate directly to the authors if that’s possible :)
No worries. Whilst it is a private tracker they have open registration most of the time and you just need to log in at a specific time to speak to someone and have a small interview thing to join. Really nice, friendly community. Hope you can find what you are after!
Also a friendly reminder to support your local library. Many libraries offer digital and audio books now that you can download! All for free!
https://www.baen.com/allbooks/ has been letting people download ebooks for a loooong time. Great little site.
They also have a collection of free books: https://www.baen.com/categories/free-library.html
One of the more ethical choices. You get the books in multiple formats and you own it.
I’ve always been impressed with Baen. They took a hard stance against DRM from the beginning.
Baen Ebooks, like its predecessor, does not use DRM (i.e., copy protection), in accordance with Jim Baen’s belief that DRM “just made it hard for people to read books, the worst mistake a publisher could make.” Eric Flint, writing soon after Baen’s death in 2006, noted that “in his fight against DRM, Jim stood alone as a publisher” and argued that Baen Book’s success “demonstrated in practice that all the propaganda [in favor of] DRM is, in addition to everything else, so much hogwash even on the practical level of a publishing house’s profits and losses.”
I buy my ebooks from Bookapy. No DRM shit, you just download .epub or .pdf files.
